Glimpsing Her
by Gypsy Joy
Summary: Written in an attempt to fulfill the wishes of people who wanted to read a fic where Clara, good old Clara, meets the Tardis Voice Interface while it's in the form of one, Rose Marion Tyler. Intended to be a two-parter, second half up soon. Doctor/Rose Tyler, if that wasn't already obvious, but also, no Clara bashing. Rated T, but that's just to be safe. Please read and review.
**There may be some mistakes in this, I kind of rushed it since I wanted to get it published tonight because that's when I saw the gifset post and comments, but don't let that dissuade you from reading (and hopefully, enjoying) it. I looked over it, and took out as many errors as I could find, but that doesn't mean I didn't miss any. Check out spoilers_xx_ on Instagram to see the post. Not exactly like the gifset, but as close as I could make it without changing the plot I have in mind. Anyway, here we go.**

 **Disclaimer: Characters are not mine, and the plot kind of isn't either, even though it also kind of will be in Chapter 2, but right now? Nothing is mine. Ya'll know the rest.**

Clara breathes hard as she passes through the doors of the Tardis, dragging the Doctor's motionless body with her. Her hair must be a mess and her clothes are no doubt looking worse for wear, but she finds it hard to care when she can still hear the hissing and clicking noises of the latest race of aliens they've managed to offend, despite having been given a ten minute head start. Honestly, she wouldn't have taken so long if the Doctor didn't weigh as much as he did. The man was practically skin and bones, how did he manage to be so heavy?!

Leaving the unconscious Timelord at the bottom of the stairs, Clara sprinted back to the doors, shutting them as fast as she could after seeing a massive horde of translucent, orange beings enter the clearing the Tardis was currently parked in. She ran towards the console, jumping over the Doctor's body in her pursuit to get them off-planet as soon as possible. Clara gripped the handholds on the console, allowing herself a moment to breathe before looking at all the different sorts of controls. They had never looked as confusing as they did just then. A series of bangs had her turning frantically in the direction of the doors. They didn't budge, but she wouldn't risk staying on the planet any longer than was necessary. Sparing a look at the bow-tie wearing Doctor passed out just a few feet from her, Clara let exasperation and irritation seep into her gaze.

He really should have at least taught her how to drive the Tardis out of the atmosphere, _instead_ of claiming that there was no need because he insisted on being the only one allowed to drive her.

She was tempted to walk over and slap him till he decided to come back to consciousness, but she doubted a mere slap would do the job. Actually, she slapped pretty hard, so the reason more likely had to do with the fact that as soon as he woke up, the Doctor would probably waste time gallivanting around the room with his arms flailing, asking questions, doing everything but get the job done. A loud crash near the entrance snapped Clara's thoughts away from the sleeping Timelord. The doors had budged. Not so much budged as shifted ever so slightly, but to the nervous companion, there wasn't a difference. Turning her gaze swiftly back to the console, Clara groaned as none of the controls necessary for dematerialization, registered. She recognized a few buttons, and the odd lever, but the memories were hazy and she didn't want to risk pressing something that might shrink the interior of the Tardis to the size of a thimble. Praying to whatever god that would listen, Clara tried something she highly doubted would work.

"I know you don't like me, but please, Tardis. Help." Nothing changed.

It's not as if she expected the voice of the ship to guide her to the right controls, but anything other than silence would have, no matter how small, aided in alleviating her nerves. She tried again.

"Look, I could care less what your issue with me is, just get us off this planet! You can do that much yourself, can't you?!" Clara was nearly yelling at the end.

She got a reply this time, a whirring that sounded suspiciously like the ship was scoffing.

"Okay, alright, can we just be nice for once and help me, somehow, make you dematerialize? Anywhere in space and time is fine, I just honestly doubt, no matter how much you might dislike me, that you would leave the Doctor, unconscious and vulnerable, on a planet with people who want to kill him. Sure you do it three-fourths of the time, but that's usually when he's at least awake. And yes, your walls might be impenetrable, but I don't think either of us wants to test that with a technologically-savvy race banging on the doors."

Clara inhaled slowly, desperately trying to get her heart rate to slow down.

"Please, help me get the three of us somewhere less… unpredictable."

She waited for a moment, hoping and praying that the Tardis would listen to her, just this once. After the longest minute or two of her life, Clara heard a slightly less condescending, and a little bit more agreeable, hum, vibrate from within the console. She held her breath, waiting for more humming, whirring, or whatever else that might signal the Tardis was helping her out. Clara let out a squeak when she saw the iridescent form of a blonde woman appear a few feet from her. The woman was an inch or two taller than her, wearing a royal blue, bomber jacket over a maroon top. She looked human, and yet gave off the feeling like she was missing something. She seemed empty, hollow, and while Clara had never met her once in her life before, the woman looked the type to be full of life. Now, she radiated nothing, her face betraying no emotion whatsoever.

"W-Who are you?" Clara tentatively asked, her voice faltering minutely.

The blonde looked her straight in the eye, and because she had always believed the phrase "the eyes are the windows to the soul", especially when she had met the Doctor, Clara realized what the woman was missing. Her soul. The, although beautiful, image was but a shade of someone greater.

"I am the Tardis Voice Visual Interface. I am to be your aid, Clara Oswin Oswald." Clara's eyebrows furrowed at the use of her full name.

It was somehow wrong coming out of the mouth of the completely unemotional Interface.

"You will need my assistance in your pursuit to leave this planet. The Tardis has activated me to show you the way."

The Impossible Girl nodded once, her face contemplating. She was relieved the Tardis was willing to help, but a question plagued her mind.

"Were you-" She caught herself.

"Was she… a real person, once?"

For the first time since their conversation had begun, the Interface's lip twitched into a smile, its image looking more like the human it should have, now that it showed a remnant of emotion.

"Rose Tyler yet lives."

Clara was about to say something, a 'thank you' maybe, or return to getting them out of there, seeing as her mind finally remembered the situation at hand, but she was interrupted as the Interface had more to say.

"And she will continue to live until the fulfillment of the promise."

Clara's mind was brought immediately back to the Interface and the woman it, poorly, imitated. She had a name now, a real, proper name.

Rose Tyler.

But what had been the promise?

"What promise? What was it?"

Once again, the Interface smiled. But this time, there was a gleam in its eye, as if it knew something, some secret, civilizations would kill for.

"The oldest promise. The most sacred."

Clara nearly opened her mouth to ask again, but there was something in the gleam of the Interface's previously-hollow eyes, that caused her to stop. It spoke to her of something even more precious than the Doctor's name, of an unbreakable oath bound by time and space. If she listened closely, Clara could hear a slight humming, not the sound of the Tardis moving, but a song. Never was it more beautiful than at the very same moment the Interface divulged one word, just one, to an eagerly listening companion.

"Forever."

 **A/N: So I hope that was okay. But yeah, so I saw the Tumblr gifset and comments on Instagram, and felt inspired to write this. It's not complete, and as I said, will probably be a two-parter, if not more. Not much more to say, oh yea, except apologize to any other followers I have waiting for me to update a different fic, I'm getting there guys. Just give little ole' Gypsy some more time, it will get done. Please review, I take them as encouragement to write more. Love (and Monsters, haha get it, the episode none of us ever talk about because wow weird RTD) -Gypsy**


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